Palau, 2002

At the outset, I wish to

congratulate Mr. Kavan on his successful election to

the leadership post of this Assembly and to offer my

country's welcome to East Timor and Switzerland

following their recent admission into our family of

nations.

We gather here slightly more than one year after

the appalling, unconscionable events of 11 September

2001. The world is still striving to come to grips with

the full implications of the inhumane savagery of the

attacks here in New York and in Alexandria, Virginia.

Given the great number of areas in which the various

Members of this Organization have differing and often

competing interests, we can all derive hope and pride

from the fact that the solidarity so evident in the

General Assembly last year is still largely intact today.

Governments around the world continue to cooperate

in efforts to identify, locate and shut down terrorist

organizations and those who would give comfort and

aid to such organizations.

Palau, in spite of the inherent limitations imposed

by its size, remoteness, capacity constraints and

economic vulnerability, has fully committed itself to

working with the community of nations to defeat

terrorists and their sympathizers. We have aggressively

pursued revisions in our laws which make it easier to

gather information on suspicious persons and activities,

to share information with other jurisdictions, to block

suspect financial transactions, to establish domestic

criminal penalties for transnational crimes, to

specifically recognize acts of terror as crimes under our

domestic legal system, and to streamline our

procedures for asset seizure and extradition in order to

better cooperate with our comrades in this war on

terrorism.

However, the limitations to which I have referred

are hampering our efforts to fully implement these

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laws. No matter how much we may wish to support the

global war on terrorism, Palau, like many other

developing nations, will not be able to participate

meaningfully in this vital campaign without the

assistance of the developed nations. Therefore, to those

leading the combat against terrorism, Palau says:

“Please, give us the tools we need to make a substantial

contribution to this fight and render practical support

for your efforts.”

While the great majority of nations remain united

in their desire to see terrorism defeated — and that is a

cause for hope — there are also grounds for concern.

Some nations appear to be wavering in their resolve to

take concrete actions to prevent terrorist attacks, while

some others seem not to fully appreciate the new

dynamic of the post-11 September world. Those who

supported or condone the events of 11 September take

heart when they hear members of this body speak of

waiting for a consensus before acting to remove

credible threats to national and international stability.

Terrorists and their sympathizers are likewise

comforted when they hear leaders continue to talk in

the old language of how to react to terrorism, rather

than speak of how to prevent and pre-empt the next

attack. Nothing pleases the forces of global terror more

than hearing members of the world coalition against

terrorism speak of measured and agreed-upon

responses to the next atrocity.

The bottom line is this: The potential for

catastrophic harm is so great that we cannot wait for

the next attack. In this regard, Palau fully supports the

United States in its resolve to pre-empt further attacks

and loss of life. The very laudable ideal of multilateral,

consensus-driven action is good, but it cannot justify

and will not excuse the loss of human lives and the

degradation of human life that will result from giving

those who rely on or sponsor terror the opportunity to

strike first, either directly or by proxy. Palau therefore

calls upon the Members of the United Nations once

again to come together in their commitment to forestall

future tragedies.

As noted earlier, we can derive some satisfaction

from the fact that the goodwill and unity of purpose

that prevailed immediately after last year's subhuman

attacks in large part continue to exist. However, Palau

also notes that the recent World Summit on Sustainable

Development revealed a dismal lack of commitment to

addressing the development needs of the great majority

of nations. The failure of key nations to recommit to

the goals of the Rio Earth Summit is equally

disappointing. Taken together, those developments

demonstrate that such goodwill and solidarity

apparently are confined to matters that most concern

the developed world.

The lack of progress on sustainable development

also strongly suggests that the developed world still

sees developing nations such as Palau as mere token

members of the international community, rather than as

viable partners. The current view the developed nations

seem to have of the developing world is unacceptable

and can lead only to greater unrest and instability in the

future.

It is time for the unity of purpose that

characterizes the global war on terror to be brought to

bear in an equally global campaign for sustainable

development. It is time to take affirmative action to

counteract the effects of globalization and correct the

technological imbalances that are widening the gap

between developed and developing nations. It is time to

take concrete action to give developing nations the

tools they need to manage and speed up their own

development in ways that will lead to the replacement

of dependence on foreign aid with dependence on

domestic industry. It is time to implement measures to

end the marginalization of developing countries in the

new global economy. In that regard, Palau welcomes

and applauds the Koizumi Initiative as one of the sadly

few positive outcomes of the World Summit on

Sustainable Development and calls upon all developed

members of the United Nations to develop similar

initiatives.

The position of certain members of this body on

fundamental environmental issues also suggests that

global solidarity is limited to areas that concern the

major Powers of the developed world. United Nations

Members that have enjoyed and continue to enjoy the

highest standard of living have done so and continue to

do so at the expense of the environmental integrity of

our planet. Those major emitters are threatening the

lives of small island States such as Palau, placing their

mere comfort above our very existence. At the same

time, they seek our support for their goals and

initiatives. That, too, is unacceptable.

Fortunately, most of the developed world,

including the governments of the major industrialized

economies of Japan and the European Union, has

recognized its responsibility and has endorsed the only

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viable response to the existing and worsening adverse

impact of climate change, the Kyoto Protocol, and the

no-regrets philosophy it embodies. It is time for those

developed nations which have shirked their

responsibilities and shunned the Kyoto Protocol to end

their callous disregard for the fate of those nations

most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate

change, to admit that the Kyoto Protocol remains the

only meaningful first step towards comprehensively

addressing climate change and to join the great body of

nations that have pledged to work together through the

Kyoto Protocol and beyond to combat the effects of

climate change.

It is time to take the lessons we have learned from

the war on terror, lessons regarding the fundamental

importance of working together to respond to a

common threat, lessons regarding the very real

interdependence of all nations and lessons regarding

the need for, and ability of, nations to balance genuine

global concerns against perceived self-interests and

apply them to the threats posed by climate change and

sea-level rise.

Throughout my remarks today, I have emphasized

Palau's strong support — in some cases, demands —

for global action to address the major threats to

stability and progress in this new global order. That is

because it has become apparent, as never before, that

the widest possible participation in responding to those

threats must be encouraged, if real and lasting solutions

are to be found.

In light of that fact, Palau must once again note

the folly of excluding any potential partner from the

efforts of the United Nations to meet the challenges we

now face and to prepare against the challenges to

come. Such exclusion is particularly short-sighted in

efforts of the international community that go beyond

politics and address fundamental human concerns, such

as health and education. For that reason, Palau must

again call upon the members of the United Nations to

welcome the Republic of China — Taiwan — into this

Organization. At the very least, the membership at this

body should endorse the participation of the Republic

of China, Taiwan, in the World Health Organization,

the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization, the United Nations Development

Programme and similar bodies dedicated to improving

the human condition. Mere politics should not be

allowed to compromise or prevent the development of

a truly global effort to alleviate human suffering and

better mankind.

In the area of health, I have appeared before this

body in the past, where I discussed the ill effects of

tobacco use and our responsibility to protect our youth

from the threat of tobacco addiction. I appear before

the Assembly today to ask again for its complete

support for the Framework Convention on Tobacco

Control, in order to combat tobacco-related illnesses

and complications.

Throughout these remarks, I have also repeatedly

returned to the idea of security. That is primarily

because we feel less secure in the aftermath of the

monstrous attacks of 11 September 2001. The very idea

of security has taken on new meaning. Our collective

understanding of the kind of cooperation and

integration that is necessary to provide effective

security has changed radically. Yet, one of the foremost

bodies for dealing with security, the Security Council,

has remained unchanged. That can hardly be right. In

this new environment, it is time to re-examine the

composition and powers of the Security Council, to

consider how it may be made both more accessible and

more accountable and to find ways to increase its

ability to respond in a prompt, flexible and effective

manner to the threats to peace that are sure to arise in

the future.

In closing, let me again confirm Palau's

dedication to, and determination to take part in, the

global efforts to meet the challenges facing us all.

Palau will continue to do all it can to support universal

responses to threats to peace and stability, especially

mid- and long-term threats, such as climate change and

sea-level rise and the widening gaps between

developed and developing nations. On behalf of the

people and Government of the Republic of Palau, I call

upon all Members of this great Organization to do

likewise.